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IMS Research - FCC Likely to Ban Pay-TV Set-top Boxes in Favor of DLNA & DTCP-IP Powered “AllVid” Devices

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Posted April 28, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The FCC appears increasingly likely to ban the pay-TV set-top box (STB) as it currently exists from the US market. In its place would come the new “AllVid Concept”, running on DLNA & DTCP-IP. Under the FCC’s “AllVid Concept”, traditional STB and DVR functions would be separated, with the proprietary parts of the platform residing in a pay-TV gateway and the video decompression being handled by generic digital media adapters (DMAs) or TVs, Blu-ray players, and game consoles that integrate DMA software.

The FCC’s proposed rule would completely change the architecture used in the $4.7 billion US pay-TV STB market. While most STB suppliers see the benefits of this change to consumers and are preparing accordingly, the pay-TV gateway + DMA architecture will likely cost significantly less than current pay-TV customer premise equipment (CPE) by eliminating extra MPEG decoders, proprietary decryption processors, and the license fees associated with each; shrinking the revenues available to suppliers of the US pay-TV market. Major suppliers to this market include:

  • US STB manufacturers: Motorola (MOTO), Cisco Systems (CSCO), EchoStar Corporation (SATS), Technicolor (TCH), Pace Plc (LSE:PIC), Humax (KSE:028080), and Samsung (LSE:SMSN; KSE:005930).
  • Vendors of MPEG decoders for the US market: Broadcom (BRCM), ST Microelectronics (STM), Trident Microsystems (TRID), and Sigma Designs (SIGM)
  • Conditional access and interactive middleware suppliers to the US Satellite market: NDS Limited (private) and Nagravision/OpenTV (Kuldeski Group: SIX:KUD)

However, there are also significant opportunities in this market, especially for makers of no-new-wire networking components, including Broadcom (BRCM), Entropic Communications (ENTR), CopperGate Communications (part of Sigma Designs), Atheros Communications (ATHR), DS2 (private), and other makers of Wi-Fi chipsets.

Full text of this release along with comments and clarification from Sigma Designs, Nagravision, and DS2 can be found on our website.

About IMS Research

IMS Research is a supplier of market research and consultancy services on a wide range of global electronics markets. The company headquarters is in Wellingborough, UK with offices in Austin, Texas and Shanghai, China. IMS Research regularly publishes detailed research on the set-top box and broadband gateway markets, among others.



CONTACT:

IMS Research
Stephen Froehlich, 512-302-1977
Senior Analyst, Consumer Electronics
Stephen.Froehlich@imsresearch-usa.com
or
Stacy Hackenberg, 512-302-1977
Press Manager
Stacy.Hackenberg@imsresearch-usa.com

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Texas

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Entertainment  TV and Radio  Technology  Consumer Electronics  Software  Telecommunications

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